Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of German Application No. 199 64 099.8, filed on Dec. 31, 1999. Applicant also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7365 of PCT/DE00/04393, filed on Dec. 8, 2000. The international application under PCT article 21(2) was not published in English.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing three-dimensionally arranged conducting and connecting structures for volumetric and energy flows. The volumetric flows may be gaseous, liquid or solid, or may consist of a mixture of said states of aggregation. The energy flows may be of an acoustic, electric, magnetic or electromagnetic nature.
2. The Prior Art
Such volumetric and energy flows are realized at the present time with the help of many different technologies, as a rule. Conductor paths and bond wires are the most frequently employed paths of transportation in the field of microsystem technology. In addition to hollow conductors, glass fibers are used for transporting electromagnetic energies as well. Volumetric flows are realized by way of channels, hoses and pipelines. With increasing miniaturization, it is possible only with great difficulty to still combine such conducting and connecting elements.
The problem is solved by the invention by using a structured, layered build-up. Methods for building up layers are known from the field of microtechnology. DE-PS 44 20 996, for example, describes a method in connection with which a small amount of the light-setting plastic is maintained between two parallel boards due to the surface tension, with at least one of said boards being permeable to electromagnetic waves. The surface of the plastic liquid located below the board that is permeable to electromagnetic waves, is cured, for example by means of a laser beam that is guided across the surface according to a 3-layer model of the structure to be generated. The model is stored in a connected computer. The laser light cures the plastic liquid layer by layer in accordance with the 3D layer model, whereby the spacing of the boards is increased in each step by one layer thickness, so that fresh plastic material can continue to flow into the intermediate space being created between the cured layer and the board solely on account of its surface tension. Structures can be produced in this way with high accuracy in the micrometer range.